Torrington council to vote on $1 purchase of property; could be used for dog park, parking

By
Esteban L. Hernandez, Register Citizen

Monday, December 16, 2013

TORRINGTON >> The City Council is voting on whether to accept a recommendation made by the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission for a $1 purchase of a property on Franklin Street during its meeting on Tuesday.

The 1.4 acre property is located on 100 Franklin St. near downtown Torrington. Some of the proposed uses for the property include a dog park, a community garden or municipal parking.

Planning and Zoning unanimously gave a favorable recommendation to the potential acquisition by the city during its meeting on Oct. 9.

During that meeting, then-director of economic development Rose Ponte gave a presentation regarding the property, as she said the applicant was prepared to sell the property to the city for $1. Ponte said the applicant is an elderly woman who doesn’t want to own the property anymore.

The property, located along the east branch of the Naugatuck River, was once home to a Torrington Manufacturing Company plant. It was knocked down in 2010 because the owner was afraid of homeless people taking shelter there or people starting fires inside it.

“The rubbles of the bricks are there. It’s not in very good shape,” Ponte said at a previous city council meeting.

The potential acquisition first came to the attention of the City Council during its meeting on Sept. 24. The council asked to have the project referred to the commission during its meeting.

According to a preliminary environmental cost estimate on the property, total redevelopment costs could range from $85,000 to $670,000. That could be paid with a revolving loan fund from the federal Environmental Protection Agency, Ponte said at the time, that is only used to remediate brownfields, She also said the large range on the estimate is due to potential hot spots on the property that could cost more money to repair but cannot be detected without a thorough inspection of the area. That unknown amount of total brownfield was a source of hesitation for Ponte, she said.